BW Confidential - Issue #12 - November/December 2012 - 15

Retail
Limoni sets out new strategy
Italian perfumery chain Limoni is to embark on a new strategy after being on the verge of bankruptcy and having seen its restructuring plan agreed upon by banks in August and its €360m debt reduced to €114m. “We will close 40 perfumeries, the smallest and less profitable ones, and we are already re-organizing the store network into three clusters. We need to adapt assortment and service to the identity of our stores, which can vary a lot. Around 60 to 80 of our perfumeries will be Prestige, around 210 to 230 will be Masstige and about 160 Commercial,” Limoni ceo Richard Simonin tells BW Confidential. In parallel, the assortment will be tightened up and the retailer will reinforce its partnership with the 20 most important brands, which account for 70% of the market. “We have already begun redefining the fragrance assortment and we will review skincare in the second half and then do make-up. When the ‘cluster program’ is complete, we will begin new store openings, probably from the beginning of 2014,” says Simonin. Limoni currently has 430 points-of-sale and a 15% market share in Italy.

Isetan revamps beauty area
Japanese department store Isetan unveiled a new Beauty Apothecary section at its Shinjuku flagship in September, doubling the store’s beauty area. The new area is part of the renovation of the entire Shinjuku Isetan store, which officially began in 2007 and will be completed in March 2013. The idea of the beauty apothecary is to offer more value and adapt to changing shopper behavior, which is seeing consumers more focused on lifestyle and health and more concerned with “wanting an experience” than “wanting to have”. This has seen the new space focus on services and holistic or lifestyle-type propositions. It houses a spa, a café and 110 brands including organic lines, and also offers a beauty concierge service to give consumers advice on holistic issues. In addition the space offers organic juices and natural foods.

Douglas in takeover talks
German group Douglas Holding has confirmed that it is in talks with an investor regarding a voluntary takeover. The company said that the issue had been discussed at a supervisory board meeting in September, but noted that whether talks will result in a transaction remains uncertain. In August, it was reported that US-based private-equity company Advent Intl was in talks to take over Douglas. The Kreke family, which owns 12% of Douglas Holding, had announced earlier this year that it aimed to take the company private in order to divest its bookstore and jewelery divisions to focus on its perfumery business.

Sephora unveils skincare tool
LVMH-owned Sephora US has launched in-store tool Sephora Skincare IQ in more than 30 stores in the US. The touch-screen display asks the shopper a series of questions and cross references the retailer’s 1,200 skincare skus across 60 brands. Consumers are asked to enter their two major skincare concerns and the tool produces a list of recommended products. The shopper can then sort through the recommendations by price, brand name or best-sellers. The tool also features a glossary of ingredients for consumers looking for more information on product formulas. Sephora claims that the tool can produce recommendations in a minute or less.
November-December 2012 - N°12 - BW Confidential

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BW Confidential - Issue #12 - November/December 2012

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